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Seabiscuit rose to prominence with the help of an unlikely triumvirate: owner Charles Howard, an automobile baron who once declared that "the day of the horse is past"; trainer Tom Smith, a man who "had cultivated an almost mystical communication with horses"; and jockey Red Pollard, who was down on his luck when he charmed a then-surly horse with his calm demeanor and a sugar cube. Hillenbrand details the ups and downs of "team Seabiscuit," from early training sessions to record-breaking victories, and from serious injury to "Horse of the Year"--as well as the Biscuit's fabled rivalry with War Admiral. She also describes the world of horseracing in the 1930s, from the snobbery of Eastern journalists regarding Western horses and public fascination with the great thoroughbreds to the jockeys' torturous weight-loss regimens, including saunas in rubber suits, strong purgatives, even tapeworms.
Along the way, Hillenbrand paints wonderful images: tears in Tom Smith's eyes as his hero, legendary trainer James Fitzsimmons, asked to hold Seabiscuit's bridle while the horse was saddled; critically injured Red Pollard, whose chest was crushed in a racing accident a few weeks before, listening to the San Antonio Handicap from his hospital bed, cheering "Get going, Biscuit! Get 'em, you old devil!"; Seabiscuit happily posing for photographers for several minutes on end; other horses refusing to work out with Seabiscuit because he teased and taunted them with his blistering speed.
Though sometimes her prose takes on a distinctly purple hue ("His history had the ethereal quality of hoofprints in windblown snow"; "The California sunlight had the pewter cast of a declining season"), Hillenbrand has crafted a delightful book. Wire to wire, Seabiscuit is a winner. Highly recommended. --Sunny Delaney
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Book Description paperback. Condition: New. New. Seller Inventory # 27-04203
Book Description Condition: New. Brand New! Not Overstocks or Low Quality Book Club Editions! Direct From the Publisher! We're not a giant, faceless warehouse organization! We're a small town bookstore that loves books and loves it's customers! Buy from Lakeside Books!. Seller Inventory # OTF-S-9780449005613
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Book Description Paperback or Softback. Condition: New. Seabiscuit: An American Legend 0.78. Book. Seller Inventory # BBS-9780449005613
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Book Description Soft cover. Condition: NEW - COLLECTIBLE. First Edition, First Printing. BRAND NEW & COLLECTIBLE, showing a whisper of margin discoloration. First Edition, First Printing. Outstanding biography of racehorse Seabiscuit (1933 - 1947), who, despite odds of inauspicious beginnings and handicapped by being short on physical endowment, galloped to championship. His fantastic and improbable successes made him the natural American symbol of hope of all underdogs from the 1930s though 1940s during the Great Depression. Hillenbrand's elegant narrative was adapted to film 2003 and nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture. Lives of his bike repair man and car salesman owner Charles Howard, reclusive trainer Tom Smith, and down-on-his-luck jockey Red Pollard added to Seabiscuit's mystique, drawing multitudes of devoted fans to every race. A wonderous chapter in the often corrupt world of horse racing and dire economic hardships. Seller Inventory # 015169
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Book Description Paperback. Condition: new. Paperback. #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER From the author of the runaway phenomenon Unbroken comes a universal underdog story about the horse who came out of nowhere to become a legend. Seabiscuit was one of the most electrifying and popular attractions in sports history and the single biggest newsmaker in the world in 1938, receiving more coverage than FDR, Hitler, or Mussolini. But his success was a surprise to the racing establishment, which had written off the crooked-legged racehorse with the sad tail. Three men changed Seabiscuits fortunes: Charles Howard was a onetime bicycle repairman who introduced the automobile to the western United States and became an overnight millionaire. When he needed a trainer for his new racehorses, he hired Tom Smith, a mysterious mustang breaker from the Colorado plains. Smith urged Howard to buy Seabiscuit for a bargain-basement price, then hired as his jockey Red Pollard, a failed boxer who was blind in one eye, half-crippled, and prone to quoting passages from Ralph Waldo Emerson. Over four years, these unlikely partners survived a phenomenal run of bad fortune, conspiracy, and severe injury to transform Seabiscuit from a neurotic, pathologically indolent also-ran into an American sports icon.Praise for Seabiscuit Fascinating . . . Vivid . . . A first-rate piece of storytelling, leaving us not only with a vivid portrait of a horse but a fascinating slice of American history as well.The New York Times Engrossing . . . Fast-moving . . . More than just a horses tale, because the humans who owned, trained, and rode Seabiscuit are equally fascinating. . . . [Laura Hillenbrand] shows an extraordinary talent for describing a horse race so vividly that the reader feels like the rider.Sports Illustrated REMARKABLE . . . MEMORABLE . . . JUST AS COMPELLING TODAY AS IT WAS IN 1938.The Washington Post Hillenbrand's riveting about underdog racehorse Seabiscuit is now a major motion picture from Universal, starring Tobey Maguire, Chris Cooper, Jeff Bridges, and William H. Macy. Directed by Gary Ross ("Pleasantville"). Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability. Seller Inventory # 9780449005613